If your mother always used to nag you to eat your greens, good on her! New research suggests that not only are vegetables good for you, they also make your skin more attractive to the opposite sex.

The research, carried out at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, studied the effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on skin color. By studying 35 participants over the course of 6 weeks, they found that those eating more of the good stuff displayed a significant increase in the redness and yellowness of their skin, a finding they report in PLoS One.

Fortunately, we're not talking acne and jaundice here, but subtle changes that actually make you look more attractive. In fact, the researchers carried out psychophysical tests alongside the consumption study, which showed that people found those eating more vegetables more attractive.

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It's worth noting that the study was carried out in a Caucasian population—but the basic health benefits associated with increased consumption of plant matter should be enough to get you chomping on the green stuff, regardless of how attractive you look. [PLoS One; Image: rupertpessl]